WASHINGTON -- Prosecutors and investigators responsible for two Louisiana related criminal prosecutions -- the shooting of six people on the Danziger Bridge by New Orleans police shortly after Hurricane Katrina and the corruption case against former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, were honored Wednesday by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Prosecutors and investigators responsible for two Louisiana-related criminal prosecutions -- the shooting of six people on the Danziger Bridge by New Orleans police shortly after Hurricane Katrina and the corruption case against former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, were honored Wednesday by Attorney General Eric Holder.Cliff Owen, The Associated Press

Officials responsible for the successful prosecution of 10 police officers for the Danziger shooting and subsequent cover-up won the Department of Justice's top award, the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional service. Holder said the case represented one of the largest police misconduct cases ever brought by the Justice Department.

The Jefferson prosecution was one of 14 awards presented Wednesday for Distinguished Service.

In August, 2009, a jury convicted the former New Orleans congressman of 11 of 16 corruption charges, mostly bribery related, for demanding payments from business executives in return for his help winning contracts in Western Africa. Though one of the convictions was overturned by an appellate court, Jefferson's 13-year sentence stood, and he is now imprisoned at the Beaumont (Texas) Correctional Facility.

"Today's award is a tribute to the tremendous work of the FBI, its investigative partners, and the prosecutors who spent six years on this case," said U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride for the Eastern District of Virginia where the case was tried. "Mr. Jefferson's conviction and lengthy prison term would never have been possible without their sacrifice and dedication in compiling the evidence and prosecuting this case."

Jefferson is awaiting word on whether the U.S. Supreme Court will agree to schedule oral arguments for his appeal of his corruption conviction. His 13-year prison sentence is the longest ever for a member of Congress. The case is best known for the $90,000 in $100 bills found stuffed in Jefferson's freezer by FBI agents during a 2005 search of his Washington D.C. home.

Jefferson's lead trial attorney, Robert Trout, declined comment on the award.

Award recipients include Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Lytle, Rebeca Bellows and Jack Hanly and Technical Assistant Jermaine Ragin from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia; Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section Charles Duross; and FBI Special Agents John Longmire and Timothy Thibault and retired Special Agents Edward Cooper and Daniel Gallagher.

Not included in the award recipient list was John Guandolo, a now retired FBI agent who, according to Justice Department filings in the Jefferson case, had a sexual relationship with the government's key informant, Virginia businesswoman Lori Mody. Mody, who wore a wire to secretly record conversations with Jefferson, disclosed the relationship prior to the 2009 trial, but Judge T.S. Ellis III ruled that Jefferson's lawyers could not share that information with the jury.

Holder presented the awards Wednesday at a ceremony in Washington.

"This year's award recipients have made significant contributions across, and far beyond, the Department of Justice and helped to protect the rights, safety and best interests of the citizens we are privileged to serve," Holder said.